Two of Lawrence O’Donnell’s admissions may sound surprising, especially for a guy who has made a good living in the television world. First, he claims he doesn’t like attention all that much. For that reason, among others, he didn’t name his show the Lawrence O’Donnell show, but instead calls it The Last Word.

“It will sound odd given this choice of occupation, but I didn’t like the attention of that,” he said. “I’d rather be on TV with a fake name.”

Here’s a hypothetical: you’re walking down the street, casually smoking a cigarette or drinking a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Now let’s assume that you don’t discard the derelict cigarette butt in an adjacent ashtray or bin as you assuredly always do, but flick it to the ground. Perhaps the coffee container to which you pressed your lips finds itself in a wastepaper basket, lying on the top of an office graveyard littered with post-it-notes, straws and the occasional phlegm-ridden tissue. Do you mind if someone picks up these relics?

James Steinberg, a former deputy secretary of state, will present Crafting a Long-term Strategy for the U.S. in the Middle East on July 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven. His talk is part of the Summer Institute.

For many, life on Martha’s Vineyard revolves around the beaches. But those seeking a little more stimulation than the sand under their feet should look no further than the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center’s Summer Institute. Every year the Summer Institute presents a variety of films and speakers and this year’s series begins this weekend.

On Sunday night the documentary Hava Nagila opens up the film series. The movie explores the history of the quintessential bar mitzvah song and takes a deeper look at Jewish cultural identity as a whole.

It’s summer on the Vineyard; crowds are expected. But nobody, from event organizers to the hundreds of people who gathered outside the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center last Thursday night, expected mayhem at a speaking event about the Supreme Court.